1 John 4:7-16

I read this passage today with a group of Christians.  As we talked about it, the idea came up that God shows people his love mainly through the actions of Christians (especially verse 12: "No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us").  Just--wow.  What a crazy idea!  God trusts us enough to show others His love!  Now, I would agree that other people are not the only ways that God shows us His love--I have felt it plenty of times just straight from Him, especially when I really needed to feel it, and it's affirmed again and again in Scripture.  But still, the fact that other people are one of the main ways to get God's love out there and have it be felt by others just amazes me.  I suppose I would compare it to how God gives us the choice to follow Him or not--He trusts us to make the right choice.  I suppose putting it down on (virtual) paper it doesn't seem like such a logical connection but to me, both show how much God trusts us--no, maybe that's not the right word.  How much He allows us to make our own decisions, even when He knows we're wrong and we're headed on a path for destruction.  But He never forces us to do anything.